Microsoft Windows 8

Will Microsoft's New OS Really Revolutionize Things?

Last week, Microsoft released Windows 8 to manufacturing, which means the most contentious OS to come out of the house that Gates built is now etched in stone. All that’s left to do is for the boxes to hit the shelves and for the critics to tell us whether or not they should stay there. Meanwhile, we’re trying to figure out who’s more nervous about 8’s massive paradigm shift — Microsoft or existing Windows users?

If you’re not aware of what’s going on with Windows 8, here’s a breakdown: Microsoft is pulling out all the stops and merging the desktop PC versions of Windows and the tablet versions into a unified operating system, Windows 8. There will be a pared-down version of Windows 8, Windows RT, but the main thing is that there’s one user experience between Windows tablets and PCs.

Microsoft is pulling a fast and furious move in hopes of beating Apple and Google to the unified-OS finish line. Trouble is, neither of those companies are merging their desktop and mobile OSes (Apple has publicly said so), so Microsoft just rushed into the party, Peter Sellers-style, to realize it's the only guy there.

While I am impressed that Microsoft had the guts to do it, this approach is the corporate equivalent of betting the farm while scorching the earth. It’s all-or-nothing time for Microsoft, and, while it still has plenty of money in the bank, the company’s steady decline is well documented and its ability to innovate beyond the Xbox is in question. Windows 8 is designed to be a defining moment for the company — to say, “We’re bold, ballsy, back and Ballmer.” I’ll wait for you to come back from washing the image of Ballmer’s balls out of your brain.

But, as the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it — and Windows 7 ain’t broke. The Window 8-style UI, the interface formerly known as “Metro,” is a radical departure from Windows 7, but that’s not what has users worried. Where Windows Vista and Windows 7 let you enable older navigation styles or Start menu layouts, the Start bar is gone completely from Windows 8. It’s not just hidden — it’s been gutted from the system to disable hacks that users of earlier builds had used to make the OS feel more familiar. That’s a pretty harsh way to force users over to the new way, and I don’t think people are going to like being told what’s best for them, especially considering that this is the OS of gamers, PC enthusiasts and others who love to tweak. Suddenly the deeply customizable Linux looks a lot more attractive in many people’s eyes.

This sounds similar to what Apple did when OS X first came out. Apple’s new OS did away with some of the menu customization of OS 9, but users found a way to hack in menu extras to get back this functionality. Apple, some said at the request of Steve Jobs, plugged the holes that enabled those hacks in the next OS X release. Then users found a new way to enable them. The message was clear: Users wanted them, so Apple stopped trying to tell people what they wanted and let it go. Today, my OS X menu bar is a conga line of useful utilities, without the drunken, frisky coworkers. I just hope Microsoft hasn’t bled Windows 8 of so much legacy stuff that users will have no options except not to upgrade. That could lead many to regard Windows 8 as the next Vista — an epic failure marketed as a revolution.